At This Time, In This Place
by SakuraNights01
Summary: Jaune awakens to an unfamiliar, void-like world. And in it, he finds someone he never thought he'd see again.


Jaune was hit by grogginess, at first. There was a "floating" sensation all around him, as though he were drifting through space. Yet, when he opened his eyes, his feet were planted firmly on the ground.

If it could be called "ground", anyways.

He awoke to find himself in an almost blinding, white void. There wasn't even a shadow under his feet, but his weight pressed into it like something solid was there.

Jaune shook off the dazed-feeling and took in his surroundings. But there was, quite literally, nothing. No wind, no sound, not even a speck of color could be found in this strange world.

"H-hello..?" he called out hesitantly. His voice echoed off of nonexistent walls.

_Unnerving_ didn't even begin to describe this.

Jaune instinctively placed a hand at the hilt of his sword and took a small step forward. The _tap_ from his boot echoed throughout the world, and, seeing no change, continued to walk forward, albeit slowly and carefully.

There had been nothing to watch but his own two feet for a while. After walking for what felt like ages (perhaps no more than a few minutes), he glanced up and finally saw _something_ in this bizarre place. Jaune picked up the pace as his eyes honed in on this new item of interest. He could eventually make out the shape of a person, standing with their back turned to him. Ever closer, he found the person to be a woman, with long red hair….

Jaune broke out into a sprint.

When she stood no more than a few feet away from him, he slowed to a stop. Panting and out of breath, it wasn't the run that made his heart pound so heavily he thought it would burst from his chest.

It was _her_. His former teammate, one of his dearest friends, and….

"...Pyrrha?"

The woman startled slightly, then turned slowly. Her vivid green eyes were so striking against this blank, voidlike world. Every last detail about her - minus her now missing headpiece - was exactly as he remembered. She stared at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief, and finally spoke.

"...Jaune."

His name, uttered so quietly it could've been a whisper, was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. Like a melody from a song he'd loved but long forgotten. His bottom lip quavered, and he suddenly found it very difficult to speak. Jaune could've stared at her forever, if only his eyes weren't so quickly blinded by tears. He squeezed them shut, the pain too much to bear.

Incomprehensible, that she, who had left his side so tragically barely a year ago, was right here, standing before him. As though her life hadn't been stolen away, and she still lived, breathed, and laughed the way she used to.

And oh, how he wanted to touch her. To hold her and never let go ever again. But he feared even the gentlest graze from his fingertips would cause her to disappear. She, on the other hand, was seemingly unafraid of this idea. Pyrrha closed the distance between them and tenderly placed a hand on his cheek, which he leaned into gratefully. She, too, was crying. But her tears were not from an unexplainable reunion of pure joy and sorrow. Rather, hers held broken-hearted remorse. Regret.

"You shouldn't be here," she said softly after a moment. His eyes snapped to hers. She was no longer looking at him, but had shifted her saddened gaze to the ground at their feet.

"But… why?" Jaune had found his voice again. "Why shouldn't I? Why are you here? ... And what is _here_?"

His questions poured out like a waterfall, and she smiled a little at the familiarity of it all.

"We are between realms. Between life and death."

His eyes widened as he took in her words. Did that mean she wasn't truly gone? And how did _he_ get here? Jaune posed these questions to her as well, but she shook her head.

"No. My time is already done," his frown deepened, "but I was asked to come here."

"Asked to? What do you mean?"

"It was a request, by someone close to a friend of ours." Pyrrha removed her hand, and Jaune seemed somewhat hurt by the loss of contact. "I was asked to protect you and bring you home safely."

"W-wait, I'm so confused…" he wiped his face clean as he pondered this. "I still don't understand how you're here, or how I'm here, or what this realm even is…." He might've continued his questions if Pyrrha didn't interrupt him with a light chuckle.

"Never change, Jaune," she smiled at him as she wiped her own tears away. Her smile changed to a more serious expression as she returned to the task at hand. "It was a mistake for you to get to this point. But it was no accident for the ones who sent you here." She took his hands in her own. "You've taken a heavy blow, but your time in life is not yet done. I'm only here to send you back."

"Well, maybe you can come with me!" he exclaimed, surprising her. "You made it this far! Isn't it possible to go a little farther?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"But… but it's not-"

"Fair?" she smirked a little as she finished his sentence. "Maybe not to you, but there are so many others before and after me that have had less than I did. My d- ...my _end_, was by choice. But some didn't even have that privilege." She leaned in to catch his eye again, downcast and hidden under his blond locks. "I _loved_ the life I had. I miss it so much. But feelings and wishes just don't make impossible feats come true. And besides…" she glanced at the sheathed sword at his hip, at the golden metal of her former headpiece embedded into it, "my memory still lives on with you."

Tears threatened to fall again, but he held them back and nodded. She smiled, relieved, then turned him around.

"This is the only time I'll be able to do this for you. So, make sure you don't come back here for a really, really long time, okay?" He heard her shift a little, then murmur "I'm sorry."

"Pyrrha… before I go, I just wanted you to know that I-"

She shoved him, hard.

* * *

He awoke with a start and found himself on his back, gazing up at a bright blue sky.

"Jaune! You're okay! Thank goodness...!" he heard a voice cry out from his side, and Ruby suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Her red-rimmed eyes and shaky voice spoke volumes.

"Wha-huh?" he mumbled as hands helped him sit up.

"You had us all worried, you know?" Ren spoke up from the other side. His normally steady voice was tinged with fear.

"Doncha' know how close you were to biting the big one?!"

"We thought you died, you moron!"

Jaune flinched as Nora and Weiss shouted at the same time. Yang kneeled next to him and clapped a metal hand on his shoulder, gripping just a little too hard.

"Make my sis cry again, and I'll make sure you stay dead," she joked (at least, he hoped), but he could tell she had been worried, too. Blake crossed her arms from where she stood behind her.

"Next time you pull a dangerous stunt like that in the middle of a fight, it would be nice if you'd let at least one of us know."

"Yeah! The way you took that Grimm head-on was… insane!" Oscar piped up, his eyes still wide with awe and horror.

"Ahaha, yeah, I'm sorry-" Jaune started, then paused and glanced around himself. Wasn't he just talking to someone? Somewhere else?

"Are you sure you're okay?" he heard Ren ask, and he slowly affirmed.

"Y-yeah, I think so."

He spotted Qrow and Maria standing a short distance away. Qrow gave him a small smile - he probably stood away from the group for obvious reasons. Maria, on the other hand, also smiled, but gave Jaune a light, knowing nod. He stared in confusion before everyone around him began standing up and stretching, while offering to help him up, too.

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised," Weiss spoke up next, earning his attention as he got to his feet. "It seemed like you had used up all of your aura with that last attack, but I guess not."

"That IS really strange… I'm almost completely unharmed too…." Jaune turned his arms this way and that as he inspected himself for injuries. His aura felt rejuvenated and had healed all wounds and bruises. It was a miracle, at best. Ruby approached him, carrying Crocea Mors and his shield.

"It looks like… she was right. About you having a lot of aura, I mean," Ruby said gently as she handed them to Jaune. He stared at her for moment, then looked down at the weapon in his hand.

"You know…" his expression held bittersweetness, as a vision of her tear-stricken face passed by in his memory, "she was right about a lot of things."

The sword was sheathed, and reattached at his hip, right where it belonged. They wasted no time rejoining the others who were waiting a little further ahead of them.

Her headpiece shone beautifully in the afternoon sun.

* * *

**This one was based on a dream I had a few days ago. I tried my best not to use redundant phrasing and words and whatnot, so I hope you've enjoyed it!**

**Also, it's sorta implied that Summer Rose asked Pyrrha to help him, simply because he is a close friend of Ruby, who has already lost so much. But it's never implicitly stated, so the person can be whoever you guys want it to be! :)**


End file.
